In Thailand, a small group of Hmong women lived in a rural village,
far from the nearest town. They grew everything they ate, mostly rice
and vegetables. They boiled most of their food, and they rarely consumed
meat.
But
then something happened to these Hmong women that shocked their
systems, permanently altering, in just a short time, the course of their
health—as well as the very germs that dwelled inside of them. They
immigrated to the United States.
In their new homeland—Minneapolis—they began to eat more protein,
sugar, and fat. They indulged, like most Americans do, in processed
food. Within a generation, the Hmong women went from having an obesity
rate of 5 percent to one of more than 30 percent.
That statistic
reflects one of the most vexing things about the well-being of
immigrants in the U.S.: Many people who come to the U.S. for a better
life end up with worse health. Many different studies have now shown
that the longer certain groups live in the U.S., the worse some of their
health outcomes get, especially when it comes to obesity.
One study found that after one year in America, just 8 percent of
immigrants are obese, but among those who have lived in the U.S. for 15
years, the obesity rate is 19 percent.
No comments:
Post a Comment